Driving training simulators are well known. Such simulators often included controls that simulate the target vehicle (e.g. car, truck, bus, etc). It is known that such simulators improve skills and safety by familiarizing the trainee with operation of the vehicle by presenting simulated situations in which, making the wrong decision does not result in a potential accident or bodily harm. In this way, the trainee learns basic driving skills before they eventually need to perform using the actual target vehicle and before they have to perform using that vehicle while operating traffic.
There are many types of simulators known. The simplest simulator is a typical driving video game having a display screen and a hand controller. In some systems, a simulated steering wheel is provided. A mock-vehicle is displayed on the display screen and the driver uses the hand controller to keep the mock-vehicle on a simulated, moving roadway on the display screen. This type of simulator helps build driver hand and eye coordination, but does not provide the true control operation of the real steering wheel, brake, clutch, shifter, windshield views and mirror views. Such simulators are more of a game than an actual driver training system.
Another type of simulator includes a video display screen to simulate a windshield view, a steering wheel, a gas pedal, a brake pedal, a shifter and, optionally, a clutch pedal. A road situation is displayed on the display screen and the driver uses the controls to drive the simulated vehicle, moving down a roadway that is displayed on the display screen. This type of simulator helps build driver skills, but does not include interaction with speedometers, tachometers, etc. Such simulators don't provide feedback from the shifter such as gear grinding when the clutch isn't operated correctly. Furthermore, such simulators have a fixed configuration relating to a single type/layout of vehicle. In some such simulators, certain gauges are provided to simulate the operation and information provided to a driver of this singular vehicle. All current simulators provide fixed scenarios to the trainee and evaluate the trainee responses in a fixed program, progressing from scenario to scenario in a linear progress.
Some training simulators provide a mock-dashboard that simulates a particular vehicle. For example, a simulator may provide a dashboard that mimics the dashboard of a particular vehicle (e.g. truck). In this, actual gauges, indicators and displays are in fixed positions of the mock-dashboard. The indicators function as in the target vehicle such as indicate speed, engine RPM, water temperature, etc, but there are several weaknesses to this type of system. There is no way to reorganize such a mock-dashboard to mimic or at least be similar to a different target vehicle. Since many driver/operator training programs often train the driver/operator to operate multiple vehicles, such a system requires multiple training systems, one for each target vehicles. Another weakness lies in the fact that such a mock-dashboard is a one-way interface—the trainee gets information from the mock-dashboard, but there is no way to get information from the trainee. In many situations, data/concurrence is needed to assure the training system that the trainee has a good understanding of the gauges, indicators and displays. It is advantageous to know if the trainee is capable of identifying each of the gauges, indicators and displays. For example, if the trainee is having difficulty shifting because he/she is shifting at too low of an RPM, the training system is able to prompt the trainee to ask if he/she knows the location of the tachometer, but there is now way for the training system to receive feedback such as a signal indicating that the trainee has touched the tachometer.
What is needed is a driver training system that provides a configurable dashboard that, under computer control, portrays any of many different dashboards of target vehicles.